Supreme Court approves Trump plan to limit Obamacare contraceptive coverage

[Mrs. Overall]

Source: NBC

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for the Trump administration to give the nation's employers more leeway in refusing to provide free birth control for their workers.

The ruling was victory for the administration's plan to greatly expand the kinds of employers who can cite religious or moral objections in declining to include contraceptives in their health care plans. Up to 126,000 women nationwide would lose birth control coverage under the plan, the government estimated. Planned Parenthood said nearly nine in 10 women seek contraceptive care of some kind during their lifetimes.

Since Congress passed Obamacare in 2010, the issue of which employers can decline offer contraceptive coverage has remained highly controversial.

Houses of worship and their auxiliaries were originally given an exemption, and a later rule allowed some non-profit religiously affiliated employers an accommodation: They could opt out of directly providing the coverage, as long as they gave notice of their objection. Their insurer or the government would then pick up the cost of the coverage.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-okays-trump-plan-limit-contraceptive-coverage-n1232339

[BigmanPigman]

1. Barefoot and pregnant...the GOP plan to control women's rights.

August celebrates women with the 100th anniv Right To Vote. We haven't come a long way baby!

Maybe this will bring even more women to our side.

[jimfields33]

12. 7-2 final decision. I was surprised. I thought 5-4 at most.

[BigmanPigman]

13. Me too.

Does not bode well for the rest of the ACA and SCOTUS.

[jimfields33]

15. Scary!

[ArizonaLib]

18. If the ACA remains in place and functioning,

will it be more difficult to push for single payer? On the other hand, if the SCOTUS fights single payer like they did the safety nets early on in the New Deal, it could be something I won't see in my life time. I hope the ACA can eventually see reforms which move it as close as possible to single payer.

Fingers crossed.

[BigmanPigman]

21. I think Biden is going to

strenghen and expand the ACA and put back the stuff Dump changed.

[ArizonaLib]

24. I hope he also works to puts more into legislation than regulations

that can be nixed out by the next republican administration's executive orders.

[BigmanPigman]

25. Good idea!

Plan for the future and the GOP dirty tricks.

[Texin]

34. That's what I thought immediately after reading this.

[Demovictory9]

43. me too

[lagomorph777]

16. Brilliant move. This will dramatically increase the demand for abortions.

[BigmanPigman]

19. Watch them outlaw abortion next.

I wouldn't be surprised.

[lagomorph777]

20. Obviously they'll keep trying.

We need to expand SCROTUS to outnumber these pigs.

[BigmanPigman]

22. Hell yes!

[Texin]

36. Yup. I guess next up on their agenda will be to block tRump's tax returns from scrutiny.

[rickford66]

2. Why can't we use this twisted logic to advance gun controls?

[FBaggins]

28. How would it apply?

Are there laws requiring employers to pay for guns for their employees that the court can provide a religious exception to?

[rickford66]

33. Find some religious reason.

The religious right is anti-abortion because it kills. Well, guns kill also. It's just a thought experiment. The right worships freedom by imposing their version of freedom on the rest of us. I'm not looking for a long debate. Please ignore me.

[Wabbajack_]

3. 7-2!?

WTF Breyer and Kagen?


I have a simple solution, decent people should seek other employment than working for religious psychos.

[flibbitygiblets]

27. Assuming that is an option. There are a lot of unemployed people these days.

If one lives in a heavily religious area, employment options might not be as plentiful.

[katmondoo]

4. Bastards!!!!!!

[jayfish]

5. "more leeway in refusing to provide free birth control for their workers"

Ummm... It's not "free birth control". It's paid for by insurance which in turn is paid for by employees and/or employers. Really NBC? The "free stuff" talking point?

[efhmc]

6. My daughter get around this when working for a catholic hospital by having a

dr recommend birth control pills to control her hormones for her "skin" problem.

[dalton99a]

7. Kick

[mountain grammy]

8. And religious fanatics will rule America

because fuck the First Amendment ..

[Greybnk48]

9. What's their stance on "free" boner pills for old white men?

I'll bet those are dispensed like Skittles.

[rickford66]

35. I wish. You gotta pay for them on most policies.

It ranges from $5.00 to $40.00 a pop. I don't know about those "pills" on the internet. My helpful lady Doc helped me out by prescribing a larger dose so I could cut them in half. The pharmacist advised that also.

[Collimator]

37. ED medications are looked at through the lens of correcting a "medical" problem

because there was clearly something in our founding documents about the "right to an erection".

Of course, it is appalling, but ED meds are often subsidized in insurance plans that happily deny birth control. One of the things that I found bewildering in the past was when employers provided insurance to their worker's children but stuck in their heels over birth control. Seems kind of counter-intuitive from an economic perspective.

Despite use of sexual imagery in advertising and the lenient treatment towards sex trafficking (when the trafficker is well-connected), our society still has a lot of issues about sex. It has even more issues about women having either personal or political power.

Oh, and that fact there are so many "boner pills" and treatments available for that particular medical problem--and for male baldness--while health problems that impact primarily women remain unsolved also shines a light on our nation's priorities.

[eggplant]

10. The stupidest part of this is that it saves insurance companies real money to give it away

Birth control costs waaaaaay less than a pregnancy, which they would be on the hook for.

[ArizonaLib]

14. Wealthy people pile money on things they want to work.

Watch how much money Walmart puts into their 'answer to Amazon Prime'

Also, when private/charter schools follow the public school classroom model, but want funding decreased for public schools and the money increased to private/charters, it reveals a 'got mine go get yours before I finish burning it down' sentiment.

[ArizonaLib]

11. If my wife's plan covers vasectomies is she required to get one?

Didn't Jesus preach something about loving one's neighbor? Maybe it wasn't important to him, and he said it passing.

He should have at least designated which commandment was most important so that even his most inept followers could start somewhere.

[Yeehah]

17. I wish professional journalists would stop calling the ACA "Obamacare"

It's a loaded and inaccurate term for the law.

[ArizonaLib]

23. I agree - I feel the same way about 'welfare'

The way it is used, particularly without the more accurately complete 'general welfare' as in the constitution's preamble allows conservatives to brand it as a handout to benefit an undeserving few.

[DonCoquixote]

26. OK religion is enough to deny rightwsw and medical coverage?

I do hope business owned my Muslims or Jews, a lot of medicine is made with pork.

[bucolic_frolic]

29. I never understand what business my employer has being in my body and my church

Employers are no longer secular? Are they trying to use this to apply for tax exempt status?

[Polybius]

30. If possible, please edit the OP and put in that it was a 7-2 decision

There are posters writing "bastards" and thinking it's a 5-4 decision.

[muriel_volestrangler]

40. You seem to be arguing it's possible to have joined the Thomas ruling and not be a 'bastard'

on this subject. I think you need to put forward your argument before asking for your personal stance to be extended to DUers.

[Polybius]

42. I would never call Kagan or Breyer bastards

I don’t always agree with them, but they are great 95% of the time.

[aggiesal]

31. Businesses that implement this ruling ...

should not be allowed to claim business tax deductions.

If you're claiming business tax deductions, you have no right to implement your religious beliefs on your employees. That's what churches are for, not businesses.

[usaf-vet]

32. Why would the SCOTUS issue a ruling on birth control medication in the ACA if they intend to KILL IT

Makes no sense to me unless the are not going to kill the entire ACA - Obamacare. Of course, I'm not a lawyer or a SCOTUS expert.

[czarjak]

38. "They never stop trying to harm our country"

[Marcuse]

39. It's not about religion. It's about demography.

[former9thward]

41. And you think only white men are religious?

[Marcuse]

44. No, I think many European Americans view America's demographic trend as an existential threat.

To them opposition to abortion has been about demography, not religion.